Приветственная речь Посла Японии Тоёхиса Кодзуки на церемонии награждения компании LLC "JTI Russia" Министром иностранных дел (2021/03/18)
2021/6/9
Dear President of JTI Russia, Mr. Osborne,
Ladies and gentlemen,
● I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to JTI Russia for receiving the Foreign Minister's Commendation Award.
●Needless to say, JTI is a global Japanese company. Here in Russia it has been making a great contribution to Japan-Russia relations in various fields such as cultural, academic, and human exchanges, as well as economics. Today, I would like to mention JTI's contribution from three separate perspectives.
● The first is its contribution to the field of economics.
● JTI has made a great contribution to the development of the Russian economy through its corporate activities. Specifically, JTI acquired Donskoy Tabak in 2018 for approximately $ 1.7 billion. This acquisition is said to be Russia's largest foreign investment in recent years. JTI’s total investment in Russia have exceeded $ 4.6 billion over the past 20 years.
● It has also made a significant contribution through tax payments. Specifically, JTI paid about 1.39% of Russia's budget revenue in 2019. The company has been awarded “Russia’s Top Employer“ with 5,000 jobs across the country and contributed to the development of the local economy.
● Next, I would like to mention JTI’s contribution in introducing Japanese culture to Russia.
● The Embassy of Japan has been holding J-FEST, which is a large-scale Japanese cultural event, since 2010. We have been consecutively receiving the support of JTI for J-FEST for the past 10 years. We had more than 100,000 participants in 2018, demonstrating that over time J-FEST has grown to become the largest Japanese-related event in Russia. Indeed, we had more than 210,000 participants at last year's online festival. JTI's cooperation has been indispensable for the continuous development of J-FEST.
●Allow me to mention another important supporter of J-FEST, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, the director of which Mr. Belov is in attendance today. I am glad to point out that we recently awarded the Foreign Minister's Commendation to the museum. I’d like to make J-FEST an even more great event, together with JTI and the Garage Museum.
● Let’s get back to the story about JTI. JTI has contributed to the spread of Japanese culture in Russia by supporting meaningful projects of Moscow Multimedia Art Museum and the annual Japanese music event “Heart of Japan”at the Moscow Conservatory.
● Finally, I would like to mention JTI's contribution to academic exchanges.
● JTI provides support to Japanese studies at St. Petersburg University and support for studying in Japan for the same university and the Far Eastern Federal University. In 2019, the total number of Russian students studying in Japan with the support of JTI reached 110 students. I believe that these exchanges in academia are important for the development of high-quality Japanese research and Japanese language education.
● My task as Ambassador of Japan to Russia is to promote Japan-Russia relations, and JTI's contribution in various field is essential part of realizing this mission. We are very grateful for your generous input and cooperation.
● Finally, I offer my sincerest wishes for the future success of the President of JTI Russia, Mr. Osborne, and everyone who is here with us today.
Ladies and gentlemen,
● I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to JTI Russia for receiving the Foreign Minister's Commendation Award.
●Needless to say, JTI is a global Japanese company. Here in Russia it has been making a great contribution to Japan-Russia relations in various fields such as cultural, academic, and human exchanges, as well as economics. Today, I would like to mention JTI's contribution from three separate perspectives.
● The first is its contribution to the field of economics.
● JTI has made a great contribution to the development of the Russian economy through its corporate activities. Specifically, JTI acquired Donskoy Tabak in 2018 for approximately $ 1.7 billion. This acquisition is said to be Russia's largest foreign investment in recent years. JTI’s total investment in Russia have exceeded $ 4.6 billion over the past 20 years.
● It has also made a significant contribution through tax payments. Specifically, JTI paid about 1.39% of Russia's budget revenue in 2019. The company has been awarded “Russia’s Top Employer“ with 5,000 jobs across the country and contributed to the development of the local economy.
● Next, I would like to mention JTI’s contribution in introducing Japanese culture to Russia.
● The Embassy of Japan has been holding J-FEST, which is a large-scale Japanese cultural event, since 2010. We have been consecutively receiving the support of JTI for J-FEST for the past 10 years. We had more than 100,000 participants in 2018, demonstrating that over time J-FEST has grown to become the largest Japanese-related event in Russia. Indeed, we had more than 210,000 participants at last year's online festival. JTI's cooperation has been indispensable for the continuous development of J-FEST.
●Allow me to mention another important supporter of J-FEST, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, the director of which Mr. Belov is in attendance today. I am glad to point out that we recently awarded the Foreign Minister's Commendation to the museum. I’d like to make J-FEST an even more great event, together with JTI and the Garage Museum.
● Let’s get back to the story about JTI. JTI has contributed to the spread of Japanese culture in Russia by supporting meaningful projects of Moscow Multimedia Art Museum and the annual Japanese music event “Heart of Japan”at the Moscow Conservatory.
● Finally, I would like to mention JTI's contribution to academic exchanges.
● JTI provides support to Japanese studies at St. Petersburg University and support for studying in Japan for the same university and the Far Eastern Federal University. In 2019, the total number of Russian students studying in Japan with the support of JTI reached 110 students. I believe that these exchanges in academia are important for the development of high-quality Japanese research and Japanese language education.
● My task as Ambassador of Japan to Russia is to promote Japan-Russia relations, and JTI's contribution in various field is essential part of realizing this mission. We are very grateful for your generous input and cooperation.
● Finally, I offer my sincerest wishes for the future success of the President of JTI Russia, Mr. Osborne, and everyone who is here with us today.